


Baked Pumpkins

by Shadowdianne



Series: Halloween series [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 23:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16168772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowdianne/pseuds/Shadowdianne
Summary: Compliation of all the Halloween-themed prompts I will be taking through all october on Tumblr 4.0! Aka the return of the Pumpkin Specials, Burnt Pumpkins and Glazed PumpkinsRatings may vary from one prompt to another. I will let you at the beginning of each one what kind of story it's going to be ahead ;)





	1. The one with the horror movie

**Author's Note:**

> Henry's away at school, Established SQ, movie night. Horror movies. And Regina spends most of the night just saying how it's all unrealistic and the human body doesn't bleed that much etc. Asked by murderouslyadorkable

 

“The blade should have never been able to go in like this.”

The comment was said somehow slurred, devoid of the usual perfect diction Regina possessed. However, the relaxed way the woman was perched on the couch, loose jeans and a shirt that seemed to be suspiciously Emma’s, didn’t quite seem as proper as she usually was either and, as yet another victim cried in agony on the screen, the former Queen snorted softly into her glass as she took a sip of her wine, eyes glinting.

At her side, arms hugging her own knees close and forgone already the idea of trying to appear tough, Emma shuddered. The sound of the blade against the pavement as it fell with a loud clatter eerily loud for her own liking.

“And the blood.” Regina added swirling her right hand harsh enough for the wine to slosh dangerously on her glass. “It’s way darker than that, and thicker, let me tell you.”

“I’m starting to see why Henry told me you aren’t the best if one wants to have a Horror movies marathon.” Emma deadpanned, eyes glancing quickly at the woman as the brunette snorted at whatever that was happening on the screen. Something that she was already too afraid to imagine.

Not like the rain that had been falling ever since the first hours of the evening had rolled by was helping her. The soft trickling of the drops had long ago become stronger and, above that and the wind, scattered thunderclaps drowned the voices coming from the old movie, the granulated surface sending Emma back to when she had been younger, smaller.

“Do you think the kid’s trick or treating is going to be done tomorrow? Mom told me they didn’t plan on missing it even if it was raining but I doubt anyone aside from her will be willing to try that.”

Regina glanced at her, profile illuminated with the dim flashes the film produced. Bottom lip trapped between her teeth, Emma let out a shuddering gasp as a scream made her look again at the film, only catching the end of the scare but the glimpse gross enough for her to gurgle some curse words that didn’t sound all that threatening if she was being honest with herself. Humming softly, Regina snapped her fingers once, sending a rivulet of purple towards the TV and effectively lowering the sound until the screams were nothing but soft whispers, impossible to make out above the heavy rain that kept on falling.

“You know, we don’t need to watch this.” She murmured, lowering the glass and some of the haze that had been glazing them disappearing just as she took on Emma’s scared expression. The blonde was a fan of scary games, thrillers being by far what she preferred to watch whenever she was the one in charge of movie night despite Henry’s protests. Her being scared by some Horror movies was something she should have never imagined.

Huffing, Emma remained silent for a couple of seconds, fingers drumming against her shins.

“It’s not like I don’t enjoy them.” She answered, feeling her magic react to Regina’s as the brunette scooted closer, free hand swiftly grazing her right hand until she stilled it, allowing her to play with her knuckles, caressing and tapping them with her thumb and index. Finally, after a few more seconds, she relented. “Maybe they are not what I prefer to see though.”

Regina tilted her head at that, taking into Emma’s somewhat shy expression, eyelids down and green glinting from beneath them, lacking the usual magic that tended to swirl inside her eyes. Casting the wine away, she freed Emma’s legs by grasping Emma’s hand, interlocking her fingers with hers and pointing towards the film with a raised brow.

“If your mother comes here and asks for candy I promise you I will give her an apple.” She commented instead, voice soft and airy.

That made Emma chuckle, visibly relaxing as she lowered her gaze, looking at the other woman’s hand and how it kept holding hers.

“You wouldn’t.” She replied, a shadow of a smile appearing on her lips. Regina, however, didn’t answer her, showing a smirk of her own as rain kept on pouring, the lightbulbs of the lampposts outside mere disembodied globules at the other side of the windows.

Taking a deep breath, Emma zeroed again on the television, the third act starting already as one of the few survivors that had been standing at the end finally got to meet the baddie of the film.

“Tell me again how this couldn’t work.” She said, resting her head on Regina’s shoulder as the brunette changed her posture so the blonde’s neck wasn’t in an awkward angle.

“Well.” Regina began after kissing her fiancée’s hand quickly. “Look at that blade, with that edge it would be impossible to serrate any bone… yes, just like that.”

“Seems painful.”

“It is.”

(And well, let’s say that Snow ended up with a candied apple.)


	2. The one with the ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asked by italymystery-swanqueen on tumblr: Visual prompt: Ghostbuster’s ghost walking down Storybrooke’s streets.

 

Her legs hurt as she run down the street, her boots stomping on the asphalt as she darted a glance at her back, her whole body crackling with unspent magic as Halloween decorations fell at her feet, lost candies and pieces of costumes littering the road in black and orange colors.

Emma yelped as her right leg slid on one the wrapping papers of a candy, the pull on her muscle hard enough for her to wince as she pushed herself. She stumbled a few steps before a roaring sound filled the air, louder and yet deeper than anything she had already heard, the sound even more grating that the screech the Chernabog had emitted.

Raising her head, she found herself staring at the soulless eyes of a white and black creature, an unnerving smile plastered across what resembled to be the face of the creature as green and white goo oozed out of it in big droplets that threatened to cover every surface on Storybrooke.

Glancing around, halfway expecting for Regina to be next to her, Emma swallowed, realizing that she was alone. Storybrooke’s very own buildings seemed to have been rearranged in a way that made her feel dizzy. Taller and jaded, each brick felt as if glancing at her, disapproving, as she took a step backwards, the heel of her boot hitting the pavement in a way that made her leg quiver.

The creature, the ghost, rose a fist as it morphed again, its Bibendum-like form growing exponentially until it felt that it was able to engulf Storybrooke with one single fist.

“Perish.”

Screaming, Emma rose her hands and willed her magic to attack, everything around her turning white as she was surrounded by crackling magic that jumped out of her in rapid cracks. Air smelling like ozone, she wished for the static on her magic to crack and break the balloon-like skin of the creature, making it explode in a thousand pieces.

And then, as magic crawled up her legs, burning everything as it climbed, a flash blinded her, pushing her backwards yet again, nothing but magic covering her ears, mouth and nose.

Emma opened her eyes with a start, brow covered in sweat and the taste of too many candy bars on the back of her mouth, coating it, as she swallowed. Still dazed, she looked outside, to the windows in where the grey light of morning was beginning to spill, creating rippling shadows that were condemned to disappear.

“Emma?”

She heard the rustling of the sheets as well as she felt a light caress on her forearm, warm fingers pressing against her muscles as she realized her whole body was tensioned, ready to bolt.

“A ghost.” She murmured, traces and details of what she had seen, what she had believed to be real, began to disappear and dissolve; fading with each beating second. “I saw…”

Turning, she found Regina’s eyes staring back at her, sleep still clinging to her eyelashes as the older woman blinked, purple dots and swirls momentarily flashing on her irises before the brunette took reins of her magic once again. With her hand still touching her forearm, Regina squeezed it before pushing her, so she laid on bed once again, her head touching the pillow with a soft thud.

“I told you that eating too much candy wasn’t going to make you any favors.” The brunette mumbled, scooting closer to Emma and moving her arm lower so it rested on the blonde’s midsection, just below her breasts. Dropping a soft kiss on her shoulder, Regina sighed and let a small swirl reach out of her body, magic pulsing as it calmed Emma’s own erratic one. “Sleep, your mother will be here in a few hours, telling us all about your brother’s first Halloween. I will need to be rested for that.”

Emma hummed at that, absentmindedly caressing Regina’s neck, the arm that was now below the other woman’s body not really able to reach anywhere else. Taking a gulp of air and wincing as she remembered how many chocolate bars she had eaten the night before, the blonde let her eyes close, maybe Regina was right. Maybe she had had a bad dream.

Outside, below the birds that had begun to chirp and jump, green goo trembled, as if laughing, and disappeared.


	3. The one with the useless vampire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vampire Emma. But not like Dark Swan Vampire. Like Adorkable Disaster Bisexual Vampire. She's not like mysterious or alluring. She just happens to be a vampire and she likes Regina. I leave it up to you how you want to take [Asked by murderouslyadorkable via tumblr]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: I had too much fun with some S1 scenes… Albeit I tweaked them.

 

“She is mayor and I’m well, me.”

Mary Margaret smiled slightly at the words despite the look of pure frustration her new friend showed on her face. Fangs slightly protruding from her mouth and bits and pieces of the toaster she had been destroying the moment she had entering the flat completely spread in front of her. Emma looked more like one of her students than the adult Mary Margaret knew she was.  

“Problems with Regina?” She asked, approaching the kitchen counter and picking one of the pieces of the toaster, now probably utterly broken. The question seemed unnecessary, but she still tilted her head slightly to her vampire flat mate as the blonde groaned and pressed the heel of her right hand against her eyes.

“That’s an understatement.” She finally answered, voice muffled as she shivered, fangs retreating to its normal human form. “I think she is about to hex me any time now.”

The brunette hummed, pushing the metal scraps and making them disappear with one wrinkle of her nose. “That’s a sorceress for you; one cannot know what they are up to.”

She saw the sigh that made her friend’s body tremble, but she didn’t comment on it; she knew how her friend thought about the whole sorceress versus pixies struggle: pointless. It wasn’t, but for tonight she was open to let it slide.

“I just want to show to her that I’m not a threat.” The blonde muttered, turning and opening the fridge with one single motion, muscles twitching under her skin. Picking a bottle of blood, Emma chugged half of it in one go before letting it rest on the counter with one soft thud. Shoulders raised, she put the palms of her hands flat next to the bottle, shivering as her body accepted the liquid. “I don’t want to take Henry from her.”

“I think she doesn’t consider you a threat, Emma.” Mary Margaret replied, carefully eyeing her. The blonde was usually pretty chill and calm but everything that regarded Regina tended to rile her up. And she definitely didn’t want to have a problem with a slightly irritated vampire. Even if the vampire loved to eat bear claws and blood mixed with cocoa as breakfast.

Groaning and letting her fangs appear again, Emma run her hand through her hair, pointing at the general direction of the flat’s door.

“That’s that I want! For her to not…” She stopped, raising her head and looking at Mary Margaret with narrowed eyes, the slightest bit of oily magic glimmering on her pupils. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

Mary Margaret swallowed but rose her shoulders in a half shrug, not entirely sure if she wanted to keep on talking. Biting her bottom lip, she nodded, the bob only making Emma frown.

“Maybe… maybe she just sees you as… some toy.”

The last couple of words escaped her mouth in a whisper. Fingers jittery, Emma rolled up the sleeves of the blouse she wore, tapping her fingertips against her skin as she did so.

“She wouldn’t.” She answered, voice soft and eyes lost on something Mary Margaret wasn’t entirely sure of what it was. “She…” Stopping herself yet again, Emma licked a droplet of blood on her lips. “She isn’t like that. She is… I mean, have you seen her?”

Mary Margaret hummed, knowing beforehand that it didn’t matter what she said; Emma’s crush on Regina had reached already Ruby’s ears. It was pointless to feign she didn’t know about the mess the blonde had created on herself a couple days ago with her mix of cocoa and blood on Granny as Regina had strutted outside of the diner. Plus, it wasn’t like Emma lost any opportunity to speak about the beauty of the brunette mayor.

“I just want to get to know her.” Emma said, with something close to a faraway gaze on her eyes, dopey smile eliciting a chuckle on Mary Margaret. “And…” Shaking herself out of whatever thought had possessed her, Emma cleared her throat, blushing. “I promised the kid that I was going to investigate her, maybe I can tell him I’m going to do that and… I don’t know: Should I ask her on a date?”

Useless, that’s what she was. Mary Margaret wasn’t as naïve as everyone wanted to believe: she knew she could be quite dreamy herself but Emma’s blindness whenever Regina was mentioned was something that just had to be studied. She half wondered if she could get Viktor to do it. Or perhaps David…

“Earth calling Mary Margaret.”

It was time for the pixie to blush. Scrubbing her nose bridge, the woman coughed softly as her flat mate eyed her with cunning eyes. Right; despite her hopelessness with everything Regina-related, the blonde was quite quick on picking anything on Mary Margaret’s life.

“If that’s what you want then do it.” Mary Margaret said, already turning towards her bed, not wanting for her friend to read anything; not now, not when she didn’t even know what to think of herself.

“Maybe…” Emma was lost, just as Mary Margaret had planned, the second Regina was back in the picture. “But how do I do it? There is that Halloween party at the end of the month, maybe I can ask her to come with me? Or… oh, I know; I’m going to call the kid and see if he can help me.”

Useless, completely useless.


	4. The one with the suitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was wondering if you could do a Halloween party that regina reluctantly attends dressed up. Mary Margaret attempts to set her up, the town backing her up, and Emma (jealously) saves the day! Asked by anon

 

Warm fires were light around the open tent Snow had asked the fairies to set up. Each of them a different shade of orange Emma could see them change from the corner of her eyes. Guests moving around, the blonde could see far too many emblems shinning on their clothes, almost all the realms represented inside the marquee.

It was headache inducing. She hummed at the thought of a quieter Halloween, Storybrooke only a horse ride away -or a car ride to be honest, she still had problems with horses, no matter the incessant lessons her father tried to set up. However, she thought while sipping from her drink, she couldn’t quite go. Not after promising her mother she was going to attend.

Woman that was currently maneuvering towards her, radiant smile on her lips, albeit slightly tense like every time she found Emma alone. An occurrence that had been happening more and more lately.

“Emma!” The sound of her name made her smile tersely, blinking quickly so her stormy thoughts wouldn’t be caught by the other woman’s keen eyes. Not like Snow was looking at her too keenly. The woman’s eyes were set in the center of the tent in where some couples had already been dancing for more than an hour, the sound coming from some place Emma hadn’t been able to quite place. “Isn’t this wonderful?”

Emma wanted to roll her eyes at her mother’s words but muttered a quite hum as the ravenette smiled sweetly to one of the waitress hired for the occasion. Not like the blonde wanted to know exactly how since she had already seen the pointy teeth and the shimmer on their backs, the illusion spell that seemed to hide their wings not strong enough for her not to notice.

“Yes.” She finally replied, drinking from her glass once again as she followed her mother’s eyes; wincing as she saw Regina dancing with what felt to be the hundredth suitor of the night.

The brunette looked stunning. That had been the only thing Emma had been sure off as she parked the car in a small clearing in the limits between two realms half an hour away from Storybrooke, their name not something she was able to remember. Dressed in black, the woman’s magic crackled and danced around her every time she moved, and, for a moment, Emma had felt her lungs unable to move as she gaped at her.

It was Samhain after all, Regina had reminded her, something on her eyes flashing briefly before it had disappeared completely. Looking down at her own clothes, Emma had nodded quickly, her left hand quickly starting the knee-jerk reaction she had started to have ever since the divorce; search for a ring that wasn’t there anymore. Searching for words she wasn’t sure she was able to pronounce.

Regina had seen the movement, pressed her lips together into a fine line and smile amicably before walking forward, leaving Emma behind. Something that had begun to happen even more regularly after coronation. After Emma had put the ring back on Hook’s hand while asking him to not take Hope away from her.

He hadn’t. But he had left the day after that.

“She looks so happy.”

Snow’s words woke Emma up from reverie, the sound of the party returning to her ears, twice as loud, as she cleared her throat, trying to regain her footing. At her side, completely oblivious, Snow grinned as a new suitor approached to Regina, a boyish smile dangling from his lips. Emma grimaced; he looked the same as the other three or four she had already seen next to Regina. Not that she was counting.

“I don’t know, I haven’t been able to talk to her.” She replied, trying not to sound too cutting, too tired. Something on her voice however, her posture perhaps as her shoulders slouched, made Snow look back to her, the same quick worry appearing on her features as confusion settled.

And then, in a sudden realization, Emma saw between the words, beneath Snow’s expression.

“You set this up, right?”

The question flew out of her mouth before she was able to process it; the slight lip bite that elicited on her mother telling her more than enough.

“I thought…” The woman’s answer was lost as Emma turned and grabbed a second glass from the waitress that had stuck around them, her sclera-less eyes following Emma’s movements with an unreadable expression. Definetely not human.

“You need to try to stop playing matchmaker.” She muttered as she breezed next to her mother, one single dancing couple on sight. Her relationship with Regina could be rocky at best, something unspoken hanging low above them but she didn’t plan on letting the brunette be exposed as some kind of contest she hadn’t explicitly said she wanted to be in.

Shuddering momentarily, echoes of thoughts she found herself looking at each night since the divorce filling her mind as that idea appeared on the forefront of her mind, Emma let just the barest of her magic to escape from her fingers, keeping the glasses perfectly still as she moved around the couples, trying to reach the center of the dance room without pushing anyone that could make a scene.

Not that she truly cared, of course.

Regina’s gaze as she settled on hers the moment she managed to come close enough to both her and her companion would have been comical if it wasn’t because something on the back of her eyes screamed of relief.

Smiling what she hoped to be a confident smile, Emma raised her drinks and, loudly while not paying any mind to whoever that stood next to her that was dressed in the colors of yet another realm, asked one simple question that raised above the disembodied music.

“Drinks?”

She still had a lot to re-learn and mend, a lot to understand and realize but, as Regina nodded quickly before ducking the man’s attempts to keep her dancing, there was a small rush of excitement as the brunette picked the untouched glass and, smirking, began to move outside the dancing circle, carrying Emma with her.

“Thank you.” She heard Regina whisper, her hand wrapping itself around her forearm, as it had done many times before. She found herself nodding, feeling younger all of a sudden, freer in a sense.

At the other side of the marquee, Ruby chuckled, shaking her head at a dismayed Snow.

“I told you.” The werewolf said with a wink. “Stubborn as mules.”


	5. The one with the decorations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Emma are trying to best each other in decorating their houses and scaring children for halloween. (maybe Henry enjoys it a bit too much)  
> Asked by sincerely-a-fan via tumblr

 

Scrubbing her hands against what once upon a time Henry was sure that had been a light blue cloth, Emma smiled as she craned her neck upwards, looking at the bits and lights she had just installed on the front side of her house.

“I know that magic is quicker.” She began to say, smearing some of the grease that had reached her nose from something the teen wasn’t entirely sure what had been. “But being Halloween I couldn’t just… snap my fingers, you know?”

“Well, mom did that.”

Sometimes Henry was glad he had apparently taken something from his brunette mother that wasn’t only the theatrics. As much as his blonde mother could sense lies a good poker face always threw her off. Plus, he thought, looking up as well as the vaguely threatening details on the façade of the house Emma rarely got to spend any more time than necessary in, it was kind of true: Regina had snapped her fingers two times while asking him what he thought about it. As well as prodding what had done his blonde mother to her own house.

And telling him that Emma was more than free to celebrate Halloween with them.

“Your mother… doesn’t want to be dethroned as best decorator.”

The skulking way it was said, accompanied with a pout, made Henry think on really follow Zelena’s advice and put both of his mothers in a closet before locking them away until they figured out what they wanted to do. -And never ever tell him, he was too young for that-

Hiding a sigh, the boy pointed in the general direction of a set of apartments, many of them already sporting in the façade the mix of yellow, orange and black that seemed to have covered Storybrooke entirely with several additions like every other year from the ones that would celebrate Samhain instead than Halloween.

“That’s grandma.” He replied, one brow arched. “She already has all the candy bought and ready for next week; heard her say something about going as Frankenstein’s bride this year.”

Which was a sensitive concept if Henry had understood the quick glance his grandfather has given to his grandmother as soon as Snow had said it nonchalantly, putting away the dirty dishes of the lunch he had managed to have with them; Emma’s schedule making it impossible for her to take care of him that afternoon.

Which was something completely unnecessary if anyone wanted to hear his opinion, even if it seemed like no one wanted it.

Emma blinked slowly at the information, quickly biting her bottom lip before turning fully to look at him, the shadow of a scowl adorning her face; the kind of scowl Henry saw only directed to people whenever his mother was about to enter into savior-mode.

“She is?”

Henry shrugged and sighed inwardly; it was starting to become cold, the afternoon light definetely not as warm as the month before, and there was already a slow breeze coiling around their ankles in a way that was making him shudder. He wanted a hot chocolate already.

“Grandpa seemed to talk her out of it.” The boy replied, pointing at the house’s door. “Can we enter? So we can try the lights from inside.”

Emma’s green eyes seemed to still be focused in something far away from Henry, but she ultimately shook her head and hummed, her right hand already fishing her phone from the back pockets with two fingers, rotating it quickly on her palm with a single push from her thumb.

“Go.” She said, head tilted. “I’m just going to call your grandparents real quick.”

Henry sighed but entered, beginning to prepare two cups of hot chocolate as Emma had her quick call outside, her voice sometimes floating inside the place but not strong enough for Henry to make out any words.

Two minutes after he had placed the cups on the table, steam still coming out of them, Emma entered, one hand playing with some loose strands of hair, the curls she had painstakingly made this morning beginning to fade after an afternoon of work.

Curls Henry knew that had been made because both of his mothers now tried to eat lunch together as often as possible. Another thing that Zelena had added to the apparently unending list she seemed to have.

“Thanks, kid.” She muttered, picking up her cup with her other hand still clutching her phone; sometimes glancing at it as she plopped down on the nearest chair. “I also sent a message to your mother, asking her to come here if you…”

“Didn’t you want to surprise her with the decorations this year?”

The obvious confusion on Emma’s face told Henry more than enough; Emma had definetely forgotten about that and the theoretical competition she and his other mother were feigning to have because of the festivity.

“Well.” Emma begun to speak, her eyes going swiftly towards one of the windows that let them look outside as soon as purple fog began to appear on the road. “Too late anyway.”

She didn’t seem sorry at all though, not even when Regina’s figure appeared, a slow smile appearing on her lips as she took on Emma’s idea of a haunted house -far too many lights if someone wanted to hear Henry’s opinion- but only nervousness, will for approval. Like every other time she did something and wanted for Regina to like it.

“You have outdone yourself this year.” She said, entering into the living room with one push of her fingers into the wooden surface of the door and approaching Emma just as the blonde stood, awkward stares being shared by the two of them. “Emma?”

Henry really needed to speak with his aunt. Pronto.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: Emma’s anger with Snow is supposed to be because Frankenstein’s monster is none other than Daniel. Even after all the time had already passed Emma -and David- were sure it wasn’t the best of ideas for Snow to go as her “bride”. Getting a costume on Storybrooke is a serious business xd.


	6. The one with the ball (Enchanted Forest version)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asked by waknatious via tumblr

The fairy lights draped down the walls of the castle twinkled in the nighttime sky, the sun already settling north, above the tree line tinting everything on its wake with orange hues the unrelenting carriages that kept on arriving the castle seemed to carry with them, on the horses’ backs.

The venue was mostly covered by now with the different costumes the ones invited to the ball sported. Some magical, the light that seemed to cover them spoke of craftily done glyphs, written on the inside of clothing and jewels, hidden so no one but the wearers knew where they were. Above them, the aforementioned fairy lights casted wards that protected the ones that took their time entering the castle’s walls; the chatter of nobles and not-as-noble alike rising into the slowly darkening nighttime sky, the first stars beginning to appear beyond the soft clouds that refracted the disappearing light.

“We could keep them waiting.”

The words, whispered above her right shoulder, elicited a small chuckle from Regina as she turned, giving her back to the ample balcony she had been spying from at the varying and unstopping group after group that had been steadily entering into the castle ever since the first hour of evening had struck. Rising one brow, she eyed the blonde that looked at her, hands nervously trying to find a back pocket that wasn’t there to use. Doublet and tights framing her figure, Regina did her best to not smirk at the obvious discomfort that glimmered on Emma’s eyes; the ones that were trained on her.

“As much as I like that idea I doubt your parents are going to let us both get away with it.” Her response drew a small pout, one that made her laugh quickly this time. Enough for the pout to transform into something closer to a scowl.

“You are the new Queen.” The blonde pointed out with a quick, snappish movement of her right hand; her magic coloring the air between them in dirty white for a hot second, one that lingered in Regina’s skin as her own power whispered deep on her veins, asked to be released, out of the tight clothes she had chosen for herself, a closer version to, perhaps, the Queen she had once been. “You should be able to arrive late to your own party.”

Regina tilted her head at those words, narrowing her eyes as Emma did her best to feign she wasn’t ogling her. The movement caused her to blush, the heat quick yet obvious on the back of her ears, enough for her to hum and come closer to the younger woman, grasping her hands as she felt the shudder of their magics finding, sensing each other.

“It’s not my party.” She enunciated softly, chasing Emma’s gaze away with her own, smiling inwardly as she felt the blonde shiver, the doublet rising momentarily as the younger woman drew a quick breath, the clothing of the bodice she wore thin enough for her to feel the small goosebumps running down her own skin. “It’s Samhain’s.”

Emma rolled her eyes a little at that, the curls she had chosen for tonight’s jumping as she tilted her neck, the gesture adorable enough for Regina to smile softly, even if the trepidation of the ball, the party, was beginning to coil and transform her very insides. It had been some time since she had let herself enjoy the festivity after all; the nervousness mixed with giddiness.

The one that, ultimately, was what made Emma chuckle and, raising her conjoined hands to her lips, drop a soft set of kisses on her knuckles, eyes glinting white.

“You look beautiful.” She whispered as soon as she let their hands fall again between them, a soft smile curving her lips. Regina could feel the answer to it bubbling just beneath her tongue, but she refrained herself for the night, looking at Emma instead, at the way the blonde hummed one more time before, painstakingly slow almost, took a step back. Boots scrapping against the floor, the blonde squared her shoulders and, mockingly, mimicked the stance of one of the many guards Snow had insisted on putting on every other corner of the castle. “Let’s go, my majesty.”

The epithet didn’t sting or burn as it had first done, the very first weeks after the coronation, when looking at each other still left them breathless and afraid. It evoked other things now, warmer, softer things that made Regina chuckle yet again as she curtsied in front of Emma, opening the closed double doors of her room with one quick movement of her hands, the one she barely used unless she got caught on her work at the castle, the one she had already shared with Emma more times than she could count.

“After you.” She said, smirk in place, brown eyes glimmering purple in a way that made very insides buzz.

“No, no.” Emma replied and there was some kind of childlike wonder there, one of the many things Regina had found herself falling in love with despite her intentions. “After you.”

“How about together?”

And so there they went, down the stairs, hand in hand, as outside the last sunray ricocheted against the wards, one final glint before the celebration began.

And if they arrived slightly late, hair disheveled and costumes not as pristine and proper as they had looked a few minutes before no one commented on it.


	7. The Halloween before Christmas one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (or the one in which I play with cliffhangers after too long of behaving myself)
> 
> Hey if you're up for another prompt for your Halloween series, how about a Nightmare Before Christmas mash-up? I can imagine Regina as an Evil Pumpkin Queen :D
> 
> Asked by anon via tumblr

The clothes felt tighter on Regina’s empty chest, but she knew they were just as perfectly tailored as they always ware, every rag that clothed her adjusted to the bones and muscles almost like a second skin. And yet, she thought as she walked through the forest that surrounded the town, leaving behind every cheer that managed to float outside the tall, crocked buildings, the clothes felt strange; prickling and uncomfortable in a way she quite didn’t understand.

She had been feeding out of anger and fear for a long, long time. The thought made her sigh as she walked, back as straight as ever and magic coming out of her purple waves that tinted each blade of grass for a second before everything went back to the grey-ish tint it seemed to permanently hue the world around her. And, she admitted, quietly, softly and with a murmur that barely reached out beyond herself, she was tired of it.

Maybe, if she had glanced back, she would have seen, or perhaps heard, the quiet hum that seemed to fill the world around her, green eyes following her every step as needles and cords fell to the ground, in a pile of clutter bloody fingers tried to pick up before they were abandoned.

As much as Regina’s clothes felt like a tight muzzle around her Emma could feel her own loose and on the brink of drowning her. A creature made out of something she wasn’t quite sure what it was she felt small rivulets of conscience rebel against the laws her creator had written in clay and mud on the back of every bone. Perhaps that had been the reason why she had followed Regina when the Queen had walked away the festivities, as somber as always.

Perhaps that had been the reason why she had heard the Queen’s admission, quiet, soft and full of longing. One she could very well understand as it was the one that made her fight against the leaves that sometimes felt that filled her body, filling her chest and mouth every time she tried to speak. Silent, she kept on following the Queen, looking beyond the somber expression, the one that had granted her the title of “Evil”. One she seemed to relish on even if know it didn’t quite seem like that.

Not that she had ever looked like “Evil” on Emma’s mind. But that was something she preferred not to dwell on. Just as she sometimes feel like she knew the woman, beyond any title, beyond any curse. Every time the word curse appeared on her mind, however, she felt needles and bones prickling her flesh, threatening to rip every seam open until nothing was left of her.

Ignorant of the woman following her, Regina kept on walking, leaving behind the town she called hers, letting her legs carry her towards the very same edge, the line that signaled the end of the little patch of land. It felt smaller than ever, she thought, a grim grin pulling her lips upwards.

It was then when she heard something at her back, the whisper, the shadow of something making her turn and glance, eyes narrowed, to the chiaroscuro that covered the forest floor, further away from the road she had taken.

“Hello?” She whispered into the night, her voice rough after so little use. She didn’t quite see the woman that turned and left in that very moment but there was something on her profile, on the gleam of green eyes that made her stumble forward, vocal chords suddenly raw.

She knew of the woman in front of her, knew who she was. The name, however, slipped away, her memory a second to slow as the first letter of the name disappeared from her mind’s eye.

The story, after all, needed to go on.

 


	8. The one where there is a party but they don’t arrive in time (again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asked by littlesparkleshark via tumblr
> 
> Halloween prompt: Ruby and Dorthy throw an "ironic halloween party" where everyone in Storybrook comes as their fairytale selves but--- can only wear the "sexy" costumes available in this world. (((inspired by me seeing the skimpiest snow white costume ever and loosing my shit))))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the ones that may not follow me on tumblr or didn't get to read the post because of, you know, time zones...  
> Sorry for my general silence throughout these days. I’ve been quite sick. Pneumonia, high fever, low blood pressure, inhability to eat for close to a week straight… And today I was told that the pneumonia apparently brought with it some other problems I wasn’t told last week Xd So I’ve been recovering but it’s been a slow process. That's been the reason why my slowness on producing new content. Also, this years' series has been much shorter due to a general lack of prompts. I, however, hope the ones that are reading these short snippets are enjoying themselves.
> 
> I will be at the comments as always.

“It itches.”

The words, spoken in a jagged tone, almost a whine, made Regina laugh as she watched Emma glance at herself on the mirror in front of them, pout curving her lips as she tugged at the hem of the different layers of fake-leather the older woman had conjured for her.

“It doesn’t, and we both know it.” The Queen ended up murmuring, fixing the collar of the snug jacket the blonde wore, taking into the painted jeans she had also conjured, smartly hexing the paint to the texture could almost fool anyone who wouldn’t look too closely to Emma’s legs. “I put a small hex, so you should be able to regulate the temperature as you see fit. How do you feel?”

The blonde sighed but kept glancing at the mirror in front of her; from the boots -higher than usual- to the paint that worked out as her usual jeans -panties doing a fine work below the paint- to the way too open jacket.

“I’m not looking forward to see my mother tonight.” She replied in a murmur, turning and glancing at Regina as the brunette smirked and rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“I think I heard her say something close to that herself this morning.” The Queen replied before flickering her magic above Emma’s head, purple sparks momentarily illuminating the younger woman’s eyes from above before they disappeared. “Hex done, you look amazing, dear.”

Despite the nervousness, Emma could feel herself blush at Regina’s words and, beyond the way her eyes kept on swiftly trying to avoid the spots where her flesh felt too exposed, she let her fingers stop from pinching the little bit of clothing she actually wore, stilling her hands and pressing them against her upper thighs.

“You think so?” She heard the fear there, not so subtly hidden on the way she rose her chin, defiantly, as Regina focused on her own make up, dress a mystery hidden beneath a cloth a few meters away from them, on top of their bed.

And she hated herself from it, from the doubts she had learnt to interiorize, lessons that had stripped her bare, turning her into someone that still managed to peek through the newly re-learnt ways of not falling into those same pits.

Regina glanced at her in answer to the question, brown eyes searching hers thanks to the mirror, the easy smile she had sported swiftly changing to something more somber, more serious.

“I do.” She replied easily, the words rolling out of her mouth just in time for the hour to change, the beginning of the night signaled by one single wave of magic rolling over them both. “Close your eyes, dear.”

The words were said with a smirk, small enough for Emma to simply see the small tug at the edges of Regina’s lips but it was powerful enough for her to lick her lips and do as told, feeling the gentle caress of Regina’s power reaching for her for a second, bells tolling signaling the beginning of Ruby’s party outside.

“I thought she hadn’t managed to convince the fairies to do that trick.” Emma murmured as she heard the swoosh of the fabric around her, magic prickling her face as it happened. She heard the faint murmur of Regina’s voice, not quite answering her.

“Dorothy spoke to Blue.” She heard, just as she began to fight the need to open her eyes just enough for her to get a peek. “I had quite the busy morning yesterday on the meeting because of it.”

“I’m just happy I managed to not go to that one.”

The answering hum made Emma smile loosely, thinking at Regina’s grown every time a meeting was scheduled; the various nobles trying to always get their way

“I’m still angry you didn’t bring my morning coffee because of that.”

Regina’s voice sounded closer, much much closer and Emma rose both brows as she felt Regina’s hands on her neck, a swift caress that made her open her eyes a second before Regina’s own petition reached her. Any kind of response to Regina’s words was, however, forgotten the second Emma got to see the costume the brunette wore.

From the purple and black bodice that hugged her torso, to the gold trim that hugged her waist, the resulting bow looking a tug away from falling open; the older woman looked positively breathtaking and Emma could hear herself gulping as she took on the tight skirt the other woman, the slit rising up to mid-thigh on one side; enough for Emma to feel the palms of her hands itching, skin far too warm.

“What do you think?”

The question was said with a smirk, ruby-red lips and mauve make-up completing the ensemble alongside with the frilly details that fell from the woman’s shoulders to her wrists in a gossamer-like cloth that couldn’t be any warmer than Emma’s pantless situation.

And yet, the woman looked about to eat her up. Which was only fitting, Emma reasoned, as she felt her head nod dumbly at the question itself.

“Amazing.” She managed to whisper. “You look… gorgeous.”

Regina laughed at that, pulling her closer until she could peck her lips, the faint taste of her magic making Emma’s own hum, just below her lips, coiling and buzzing.

“You look far more gorgeous than I do, dear. Now, can you zip me up? There are things I prefer not to leave to magic.” The last bit was said with a lopsided smile and just a hint of purple shinning behind heavy eyelids, a lazy turn being followed after that, exposing soft skin just beneath the skimpy clothes.

And well, as much as Regina said she was reformed there were times, minute times like this one, in where Emma was sure the woman was positively evil.

(They didn’t arrive on time)


	9. The one with the cameo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could you do something like an update from your SwanQueen meets SwanKing from the very first of your Halloween series - that’d be a cool throwback and thanks!  
> Asked by anon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the ones that weren’t four years ago SwanKing is the male version of SwanQueen. Which is something I did as an answer to a particular prompt that asked me to write the two duos finding each other thanks to a curse. (The original fic for that can be read on the first part of this series, chapter 4) Apparently, our anon here was there four years ago Xd I found it fitting to end this quite short series for this year as a massive throwback to that prompt.
> 
> Small notes regarding this one: On the original, if you don’t want to read it, the male versions of SQ reached them by crossing through a mirror. I did a quite heavy wink to the mirror for it to be a Synopados. Which was a nod to the book series “The Children of the Lamp”. On this version we are back to this idea so there isn’t any portal so to speak. The idea was that their male versions were -at the time of the first prompt- back at S1/2a while Emma and Regina where set on a strange time line of S3/S4a -relationship speaking- Now Emma and Regina are post S7 (and together if I have any say on it) while their male versions are on S4.

Emma eyed the objects in front of her; the trinkets and dust-covered memories that had been part of the shop she was in for far longer she dared to imagine. Outside, the sound of the upcoming festivity reached the insides of the pawn-shop, boxes waiting to be marked and sent away.

 

“Something on your mind?”

 

Regina’s voice reached the blonde as she bit down on her nail, sparks of dirty white power illuminating her eyes as she turned and glanced at the always perfectly dressed brunette.

 

“Nothing.” She replied, a shrug already making her shoulders tremble slightly. The sound of a grandfather clock could be heard as she answered; a mocking undertone on its ticking as Regina rose a brow, not once believing the blonde’s words. Sighing, Emma pointed at the objects around them, from the unicorn mobile that still hung from the shop’s ceiling to the different mirrors that, magically held, awaited their turn to be boxed. “It’s just that I hate doing this.”

 

Regina hummed at that, knowing that already. It wasn’t any secret that Emma felt her whole skin beginning to prickle near Rumplestiskin’s old objects. Her doubts regarding them had been one of the reasons why the abandoned shop had stayed that way for quite some time after all; the amount of work big enough for Regina herself to feel daunted by it.

 

Not that she intended on admitting that to the blonde, of course, and, as such, she merely sent a small purple wave on Emma’s direction while hiding her smirk as the blonde yelped, the magical kick Regina had sent on her way invisible to her eyes.

 

“I know you did something.” The blonde muttered as the spell vanished, green eyes narrowing as Regina walked closer to the pile of mirrors, doing her best to feign she hadn’t heard Emma’s complaint.

 

She, however, halted when she began to inspect the mirrors in front of her, each one of them sporting different runes and glyphs; aspects of dormant hexes that, once upon a time, had been active.

 

Seems you still had some secrets, Rumple.

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Emma’s voice, however, as the blonde approached her from behind, one hand caressing her back where the magic kick had just hit her.

 

“Regina?”

 

The brunette glanced at the younger woman, sensing the weariness on her tone. Emma still had quite a lot to understand and digest from a magical perspective, but she could see the way her magic focused on the mirrors, on each marking and sigil written on them.

 

“Are they… active?”

 

The question came out in a whisper, one Regina almost laughed at if it wasn’t because she wasn’t so sure herself. Enchanted mirrors could be stubborn after all, capable of holding their magic for quite the long time. That had been one of the reasons the use of a genie on her Evil Queen days had been so effective after all: once the spell was placed it was difficult to make it disappear.

 

“I don’t think so.” She finally replied, touching the first few with her fingers, trying to sense any residual magic waiting for them on the edges of their glossy surface. Until, of course, she sensed a different one just below the pads of her fingertips; calling for her magic as if it had been bound to her.

 

Or hexed to be that way.

 

Eyes narrowing, she picked the mirror up, looking at every angle from it, trying to sense something else beyond her own magic, beyond the whiff of Emma’s own clinging to it, old enough for it to be several years old.

 

Four, perhaps.

 

“Emma?” She called, but the blonde was already by her side, focused on the mirror in front of them, the surface slightly opaque, as if dirty, as if broken. Taking a gulp of air, Regina peered into it, the blurry figures that stared back at them not exactly them in the slightest but shadows and colors that changed with every new beam of the orange-hued light that colored the back of the shop. “Do you remember,” She began, tongue peeking between her teeth. “Them?”

 

They had rarely spoken of that Samhain after what had happened, seeing their male counterparts strange in ways they weren’t able to fully explain. Both Emmet and Rey had been in a different path the time they had met them, their stories had just begun to interlock and, as such, when Emma had asked the day after Samhain what could be the reason behind their apparition, Regina had known that it had been a game played by Rumple but had refused to look further into it.

 

Stories could very easily be changed if anyone started to wander into them after all. That had been the reasoning behind her silence, behind the glances she had given to the man for several weeks after the vortex had appeared and had swallowed back the two men. Men so close to them it had made Regina dizzy in ways she hadn’t dared to think about.

 

Yet, she hadn’t forgotten about neither of them; about the way Rey had stated, still full of rage and fear, that care was weakness. That love was something that should be avoided. And how Emmett had glanced at them with something close to recognition, never once really asking a question neither Emma or herself had been ready to answer at the time. Still new, unaware, still blind.

 

Now, however, everything was different.

 

Which could be the reason why Emma nodded at her side, the quiet hum what made Regina look away from the mirror to focus on the younger woman’s profile; on the slightly raised chin and the warm colors her red leather jacket gave to her complexion.

 

“Think they came from here?”

 

Regina shrugged; she couldn’t ask Rumple, not anymore, but she had a very good hunch about the mirror itself. Turning to look back at it, she narrowed her eyes and called for her magic to cleanse the murkiness covering the mirror, the hex old and weakened enough for it to be ambers on an otherwise powerful spell.

 

“Help me with this.” She instructed, handing the mirror over to Emma and focusing her magic into the surface, sending wave after wave that made the smell of ozone into the air grow heavy with each new breath.

 

Until the vague reflection of themselves changed; just enough for Regina to not see it at first until the blinking on the image in front of her was slower, more focused, and a face that was eerily similar to hers but not quite, returned her gaze.

 

“Told you this mirror was cursed.”

 

The voice, deeper but with a similar cadence that the one Regina was used to hear on herself, reached them both as Emma haphazardly, glanced from behind, eyes widening as a second set of green irises followed suit.

 

“You!”

 

Rey nodded from his side of the mirror, just as the image trembled for a second, fine silver lines coloring the air at the other side of it.

 

“Us.”

 

Regina smiled slightly at the curt tone her other version gave to them, but her eyes were already taking into the slight differences from the last time they had meet. While the last time Rey had seemed permanently on edge, suit hugging his figure and not letting anything be spontaneous, the man that eyed her seemed livelier, more focused. Hair slightly longer, caressing his ears, his face looked less strained.

 

The blond, however, seemed more stressed, with red rimming his eyes and, once he stood next to Rey, he seemed in a serious need of a nap. The thought reached Regina in the same way it naturally would come when Emma arrived home after a long shift and she stole a glance to the blonde. Not quick enough, however, for her to miss the quick nod Rey gave into her direction; a silent confirmation of memories that threatened to knock on Regina’s mind.

 

“Happy Halloween.”

 

The cheery tone Emma used as she smiled at her male counterparts made Regina want to scoff at it, but she found herself unable to; the roll of her eyes obvious enough, however, for Rey to do the same as her, his eyes never once fully straining from Emmett’s figure.

 

“I almost considered you two a dream at this point.”

 

It was Emmett’s voice the one that reached them this time, the easy-going smile not quite reaching his eyes but enough for Regina to shake her head. She knew for a fact that had been Emma’s own intake of their brief encounter four years ago. It seemed fitting that that idea was shared among the two of them.

 

“We were cleaning Gold’s shop.” She explained, eyes going back to Rey’s, taking into the slight but unmissable nervous state the man was in. For her at least. “Seems like the enchantment was weakened on our side.”

 

“Same for us.” Rey replied, a shrug ready on his shoulders. “We were helping Gold as well; trying to find a spell. Cold-creating warlocks seem to be what we are facing now.”

 

Regina pursed her lips into a line and could feel Emma’s stance changing at her side, her left hand quickly caressing her back for a moment. Something that wasn’t lost to Rey’s it seemed, as the man tilted her head, minutely, the same kind of wanting like the first time they had met flashing for a moment before he managed to get it under control.

 

“It will be okay.”

 

Emma’s words made the two dark-haired figures turn to look at her, the blonde’s green eyes trained, however, on the ones of her counterpart; a small reassuring nod already forming on the crane of her head. Regina smiled at the sight, grasping Emma’s fingers for a second and sensing a magic caress she hoped went unnoticed.

 

“We should probably get going.” She spoke, just in time for Rey to part his own lips, similar words echoing on his side of the mirror. “Samhain is in a few hours.”

 

“Happy Samhain then.” Rey replied, nodding to both of them, a meaningful look falling upon Regina’s hand, still far too close to Emma. “Until we find another mirror.” And, without letting them speak a single word, Rey waved his hand in front of the mirror, effectively cutting any residual link.

 

The mirror turned opaque once again, their magics disappearing into the air as Emma let her posture shag for a moment, all strength abandoning her body.

 

“They will be all right.” Regina muttered, a quick peck on her lips the only answer she got from Emma until the woman eyed her, pained.

 

“What if the story is different?”

 

Regina shook her head; neither of them could know after all. Yet, there was something there, beneath the surface of whatever spell Gold had casted on the mirror all those years ago, that told her more than enough.

 

“I think it won’t be different.”

 

Neither of them spoke of what the blonde truly feared, about stories that didn’t get to happen, realizations that didn’t get to be made.

 

This time, for them both, Regina would be the one holding their hope as high as possible.

 

After all, she reasoned, if there was something true across any kind of version of themselves, hidden behind stories and authors and books, were their stubbornness.

 

“Come on.” She instructed softly. “There is a lot we need to do before this night. And I don’t want to lose to your mother to candy-giving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween to all of you. Tomorrow I will go back to the usual schedule of two prompts per day on tumblr if my health lets me.
> 
> I also want to say that this is probably the very last special I will ever done for October. Numbers don't lie after all xd  
> However, thank you all who read and commented. And sent those prompts. It meant a lot.


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